Climate change is affecting the IPLCs (Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities) around the world, including ethnic minorities in China, especially from agriculture, animal husbandry, hunting and gathering, which are ...Climate change is affecting the IPLCs (Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities) around the world, including ethnic minorities in China, especially from agriculture, animal husbandry, hunting and gathering, which are their main source of livelihoods. At the same time, IPLCs have rich traditional knowledge related to climate and its disasters, especially in their livelihoods. This review work examines the research about traditional knowledge associated to livelihood in monitoring and adapting to changing climatic conditions in ethnic minorities in China. Authors reviewed the research papers and monographs on the traditional agricultural livelihood of ethnic minorities in China, and divided different agricultural types on the basis of literature review. At the same time, authors focused on reviewing the traditional knowledge formed by ethnic minorities in the agriculture, especially the traditional knowledge related to weather and climate information. In authors’ findings authors realized that ethnic minorities are the practitioners of traditional agricultural practices. Their observation and perception come from real life and may not be “scientific”, but they directly reflect the impact of climate change on local livelihoods and contain wisdom to adapt to climate change. Ethnic minorities not only observe and perceive climate change, but also actively adapt to the impact of climate change on traditional livelihoods. In the process of adaptation, traditional knowledge plays a key role. This paper highlights how traditional knowledge can improve understanding of the influence of climate change on livelihood, and provide ideas to develop an equitable and effective plan to adapt the climate change. For the IPLCs, compared with the externally driven adaption options, they are more willing to take the community-based plan, because such plans will enable them to apply their traditional knowledge according to the geographical location and environment of their areas, so that their actions to adapt to climate change will be more effective.展开更多
Background: Sexual size dimorphism(SSD) occurs in a wide range of species in birds and other animals, but the magnitude of SSD often varies with environmental conditions. In general, in the developmental stages, the l...Background: Sexual size dimorphism(SSD) occurs in a wide range of species in birds and other animals, but the magnitude of SSD often varies with environmental conditions. In general, in the developmental stages, the larger sex is more vulnerable to adverse environmental conditions because the larger sex requires more energy than the smaller sex. However, this may not hold true for birds with large brood sizes; the larger sex can acquire more food by suppressing the smaller sex. In addition, most previous studies have been experimental, such as by manipulating clutch size and ectoparasites, which may not reflect natural conditions.Methods: In the present study, we propose a general framework to assess sexual differences in environmental sensitivity in natural populations. Because environmental conditions change throughout the breeding season, seasonal changes of nestling SSD and sex ratio should reflect sexual differences in environmental sensitivity. We applied this approach to a large dataset(1555 nestlings over 5 years) of Japanese Tits(Parus minor). In this population, the male nestling is generally larger than the female(5% SSD in body weight).Results: We found that the magnitude of SSD(weight, tarsus, wing) and fledgling sex ratio increased both in the beginning and the end of the breeding season.Conclusion: Our study suggested that female nestlings are more valuable to poor environmental conditions in the relatively fecund species. This study underscores the importance of brood size on sexual differences in environmental stochasticity and our framework encourages comparative analysis among different bird species.展开更多
Based on the temporal-spatial distribution features of ancient settlement sites from the middle and late Neolithic Age to the Han dynasty in the Chaohu Lake Basin of Anhui Province, East China, using the methods of GI...Based on the temporal-spatial distribution features of ancient settlement sites from the middle and late Neolithic Age to the Han dynasty in the Chaohu Lake Basin of Anhui Province, East China, using the methods of GIS combined with the reconstructed paleoen- vironment by the records of lake sediment since Holocene, the transmutation of ancient set- tlements with response to environmental changes in this area has been discussed. Studies show that the main feature of transmutation of ancient settlements from the middle and late Neolithic Age to the Han Dynasty was that the distribution of settlements in this area changed from high altitudes to low ones and kept approaching the Chaohu Lake with the passage of time. These could be the response to the climate change from warm-moist to a relatively warm-dry condition during the middle Holocene, leading to the lake level fluctuations. The large area of exposed land provided enough space for human activities. These indicate that the above changes in geomorphologic evolution and hydrology influenced by climate condi- tions affected the transmutation of ancient settlements greatly. The distribution pattern of settlement sites was that the number of sites in the west was more than in the east. This pattern may be related to the geomorphologic conditions such as frequent channel shifting of the Yangtze River as well as flood disasters during the Holocene optimum. Therefore, climate change was the inducement of the transmutation of ancient settlements in the Chaohu Lake Basin, which exerted great influence on the distribution, expansion and development of the ancient settlements.展开更多
Objective:The purpose of this study was to understand the health-related behaviors in children of ethnic minorities and Han nationality so as to provide a basis for formulating a health promotion plan,reasonably alloc...Objective:The purpose of this study was to understand the health-related behaviors in children of ethnic minorities and Han nationality so as to provide a basis for formulating a health promotion plan,reasonably allocating health resources,and improving health conditions of the entire population of children.Methods:The selection and processing of study subjects,as well as health-related behaviors,were based on the 2009 Chinese Health and Nutrition Survey(CHNS)data.A total of 867 children were involved in this study,including 762 Han children and 105 minority children.Comparative analysis was conducted on the reported ratio of health-related behaviors,including society and family variation,as well as dietary habit variation,and health condition scores.Results:A comparison on health-related behaviors between ethnic minority and Han children indicated the following:with respect to society and family variation,statistical significance(P<0.05)existed between the two groups in health-related behaviors influenced by parents who did or did not stay at home,level of education,and medical insurance status;and with respect to dietary habit variation,statistical significance(P<0.05)existed in the differences of dietary habits between the two groups.Moreover,differences in the weight-forage Z score(WAZ),weight-forheight Z score(WHZ),and body mass index-for-age Z score(BAZ)between the two groups were statistically significant(P<0.05).Conclusion:Health-related behavioral norms and health conditions of ethnic minority children should be further improved.Increased health awareness of families with children and health care system development should be stressed to elevate the health level of the entire population of children in China.展开更多
文摘Climate change is affecting the IPLCs (Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities) around the world, including ethnic minorities in China, especially from agriculture, animal husbandry, hunting and gathering, which are their main source of livelihoods. At the same time, IPLCs have rich traditional knowledge related to climate and its disasters, especially in their livelihoods. This review work examines the research about traditional knowledge associated to livelihood in monitoring and adapting to changing climatic conditions in ethnic minorities in China. Authors reviewed the research papers and monographs on the traditional agricultural livelihood of ethnic minorities in China, and divided different agricultural types on the basis of literature review. At the same time, authors focused on reviewing the traditional knowledge formed by ethnic minorities in the agriculture, especially the traditional knowledge related to weather and climate information. In authors’ findings authors realized that ethnic minorities are the practitioners of traditional agricultural practices. Their observation and perception come from real life and may not be “scientific”, but they directly reflect the impact of climate change on local livelihoods and contain wisdom to adapt to climate change. Ethnic minorities not only observe and perceive climate change, but also actively adapt to the impact of climate change on traditional livelihoods. In the process of adaptation, traditional knowledge plays a key role. This paper highlights how traditional knowledge can improve understanding of the influence of climate change on livelihood, and provide ideas to develop an equitable and effective plan to adapt the climate change. For the IPLCs, compared with the externally driven adaption options, they are more willing to take the community-based plan, because such plans will enable them to apply their traditional knowledge according to the geographical location and environment of their areas, so that their actions to adapt to climate change will be more effective.
文摘Background: Sexual size dimorphism(SSD) occurs in a wide range of species in birds and other animals, but the magnitude of SSD often varies with environmental conditions. In general, in the developmental stages, the larger sex is more vulnerable to adverse environmental conditions because the larger sex requires more energy than the smaller sex. However, this may not hold true for birds with large brood sizes; the larger sex can acquire more food by suppressing the smaller sex. In addition, most previous studies have been experimental, such as by manipulating clutch size and ectoparasites, which may not reflect natural conditions.Methods: In the present study, we propose a general framework to assess sexual differences in environmental sensitivity in natural populations. Because environmental conditions change throughout the breeding season, seasonal changes of nestling SSD and sex ratio should reflect sexual differences in environmental sensitivity. We applied this approach to a large dataset(1555 nestlings over 5 years) of Japanese Tits(Parus minor). In this population, the male nestling is generally larger than the female(5% SSD in body weight).Results: We found that the magnitude of SSD(weight, tarsus, wing) and fledgling sex ratio increased both in the beginning and the end of the breeding season.Conclusion: Our study suggested that female nestlings are more valuable to poor environmental conditions in the relatively fecund species. This study underscores the importance of brood size on sexual differences in environmental stochasticity and our framework encourages comparative analysis among different bird species.
基金Major Program of Natural Science Research at University of Anhui Province, No.ZD200908 National Sci ence and Technology Support Program, No.2010BAK67B02+1 种基金 National Natural Science Foundation of China, No.41010104005 No.40971115This work is supported by the Tracing Origin Project of Chinese Civilization. We thank Dr. An Ran and Dr. Heim. Jordan in Purdue University, USA, for their kind help and valuable discussions.
文摘Based on the temporal-spatial distribution features of ancient settlement sites from the middle and late Neolithic Age to the Han dynasty in the Chaohu Lake Basin of Anhui Province, East China, using the methods of GIS combined with the reconstructed paleoen- vironment by the records of lake sediment since Holocene, the transmutation of ancient set- tlements with response to environmental changes in this area has been discussed. Studies show that the main feature of transmutation of ancient settlements from the middle and late Neolithic Age to the Han Dynasty was that the distribution of settlements in this area changed from high altitudes to low ones and kept approaching the Chaohu Lake with the passage of time. These could be the response to the climate change from warm-moist to a relatively warm-dry condition during the middle Holocene, leading to the lake level fluctuations. The large area of exposed land provided enough space for human activities. These indicate that the above changes in geomorphologic evolution and hydrology influenced by climate condi- tions affected the transmutation of ancient settlements greatly. The distribution pattern of settlement sites was that the number of sites in the west was more than in the east. This pattern may be related to the geomorphologic conditions such as frequent channel shifting of the Yangtze River as well as flood disasters during the Holocene optimum. Therefore, climate change was the inducement of the transmutation of ancient settlements in the Chaohu Lake Basin, which exerted great influence on the distribution, expansion and development of the ancient settlements.
文摘Objective:The purpose of this study was to understand the health-related behaviors in children of ethnic minorities and Han nationality so as to provide a basis for formulating a health promotion plan,reasonably allocating health resources,and improving health conditions of the entire population of children.Methods:The selection and processing of study subjects,as well as health-related behaviors,were based on the 2009 Chinese Health and Nutrition Survey(CHNS)data.A total of 867 children were involved in this study,including 762 Han children and 105 minority children.Comparative analysis was conducted on the reported ratio of health-related behaviors,including society and family variation,as well as dietary habit variation,and health condition scores.Results:A comparison on health-related behaviors between ethnic minority and Han children indicated the following:with respect to society and family variation,statistical significance(P<0.05)existed between the two groups in health-related behaviors influenced by parents who did or did not stay at home,level of education,and medical insurance status;and with respect to dietary habit variation,statistical significance(P<0.05)existed in the differences of dietary habits between the two groups.Moreover,differences in the weight-forage Z score(WAZ),weight-forheight Z score(WHZ),and body mass index-for-age Z score(BAZ)between the two groups were statistically significant(P<0.05).Conclusion:Health-related behavioral norms and health conditions of ethnic minority children should be further improved.Increased health awareness of families with children and health care system development should be stressed to elevate the health level of the entire population of children in China.
